Roombas are pretty great. Not only do they slowly-but-surely clean your floor and then amusingly run out of battery power before they can safely make it back to home base, but they make for a great theme park ride for your cat. Still, though, Roombas have their faults. They can’t squeeze into tight spaces, and you inevitably stub your toe on one that didn’t make it back home when you come home late at night and forget to turn the lights on. A new concept could solve these issues, replacing the roving vacuum with a static hub that shoots out little gel-based robot balls.

Conceived by Juan Lee, the robot balls roll out of the hub when cleaning is desired. Their small stature would help them maneuver into spaces that Roombas can’t, as well as navigate the maze of furniture underneath which Roombas always end up getting stuck. Rather than coming equipped with little vacuums, the balls make dirt and dust quiver in fear thanks to being covered in a gel-like substance. The gel is sticky, so dirt and dust clump onto the balls. Once the balls return to the hub, the gel is washed off, and the balls recharge.

Think of the balls as one of those sticky hand toys, but with little robots inside of them that can communicate with the hub. The balls won’t be able to clean up spilled liquid, but neither can your standard Roomba. However, liquid could potentially damage a Roomba, whereas the gel simply does not interact with water, so it can safely roll along.

This gel system is simply a concept at the moment, so don’t get too excited by the possibility of finally being able to have an autonomous robot clean underneath your couch. You can check out more details over at the Electrolux Design Lab concept page.